Masteries

Offense:
9

Defense:
21

Utility:
0

Introduction

This is just a backstory/explanation type thing and is really unnecessary if you wish to skip it. This is my first guide, so please bare with me.

Why did I make this guide?

The jungle is probably my second favorite place to be in League of Legends, after Middle Lane. There is just something about it that satisfies me in pulling off a successful gank from out of a bush and tearing apart the other team. So, naturally, I was quiet excited when Zac was revealed, with that jump, his ult, the sustain from his passive, the lack of mana, I thought for sure he would be one of the best junglers in the game. The day he was released I bought his bundle and started playing him, and he rapidly became one of my main champions. He wasn't the most powerful, but he was ridiculously fun to use. But, as I continued to jungle with him, I began to notice that I wasn't really doing as well as I thought I should. I would go 26/2 with Warwick, then turn around and go 1/8 with Zac. He doesn't have the power or speed necessary to clear the jungle quickly early game, and by the time I was able to start clearing quickly, laning phase was usually over and I would be stuck playing catch up. Or maybe I just suck as Zac in the jungle?

Anyway, one day I was playing with some friends and the enemy team had a Zac
as well, only thing was he went Mid. We kinda laughed and thought that it would be an easy game, up until the Zac dominated our Mid and took the turret. We did win the game, and maybe he was just lucky, but he went positive in that game and it got me wondering if Zac on mid could work. So, I tried it. For the last several weeks I have been playing Zac on mid almost exclusively, and I must say I am very pleased with the results. No one seems to really give Zac the credit for what he can do. He can solo top, he can jungle, heck I have even seen support builds for him. Why shouldn't he be able to mid? Many of my friends view him as a garbage champ, and whenever I play with strangers I have to argue about 50% of the time when I call mid and chose Zac. Not only that, there is only one guide I have seen on any website that suggests Zac can mid, and the build put him as an AP glass cannon. That isn't viable for Zac. I decided to make this guide in an attempt to show the LoL community what I have learned about Zac's Mid potential, and to help direct future Zac players should they find the urge to do something out of the ordinary.

Pros / Cons

Pros/Cons

Alright, lets get down to the actual informative bit off this guide.

Pros

+ One of the longest jumps in the game+ 3 of his abilities provide CC+ Good cool down + no mana allows you to spam your spells+ Passive allows for sustain and good trading in lane+ Hard to gank because he can jump away+ He is FLUBBER!!!+ He visibly scales with whatever his HP is, so if you get him to 5000 health you can have a Chogath sized Zac! Not to mention the shenanigans to be had with Lulu's Ulti :P

Cons

- Jump can be predicted- Relies on health blobs early game- "Upon death" blobs are easily killed- Jump can be disrupted or cancelled by enemy CC- He doesn't have a blue toothpaste skin

Masteries

Before I explain them, lets take a look at the order again. I would also like to point out that masteries and runes are purely personal preference. If you don't agree with my selection, then by all means do your own set up! I'm just sharing what I have found to be most effective in my experiences.

Masteries

1/5

3/1

4/5

1/1

3/5

4/1

2/1

1/5

2/1

1/1

1/5

3/1

3/

1/

Zac's mastery page should always be 9/21/0, as he is an AP tank, but most Zac builds I have seen will put 4 points into Sorcery. I'm not saying they are wrong, but I drop 1 into Summoner's Wrath simply because the boost to Exhaustis far too good in my opinion.

I take 3 points into this because the added health regeneration is helpful, especially early game if you are having trouble grabbing your blobs.

These Masteries give Zac more HP, and he can never have too much of that.

The blobs from cell division have 50% of Zac's MR and armor, so any boost we can get there will help him have a better chance of surviving in case he goes down.

These just add a bit of tankiness, kinda obvious.

Why in the world you wouldn't use this is beyond me. 3% damage reduction from all sources is quite a boost.

Runes

Runes

Greater Mark of Magic Penetration9

Greater Glyph of Magic Resist9

Greater Seal of Armor9

Greater Quintessence of Ability Power3

Zac doesn't have much damage output to start with, so these will help you get in some extra damage early against your lane opponent, especially when combined with the Summoner's Wrath bonus to Exhaust.

In my opinion, these are just too valuable to a tank like Zac to skip out on.

"Co, you keep talking about early game benefits like they are the only reason you should do something. You know there are a middle and late game? Right?"

Yes, I know that. But everything I have talked about will help out in middle and late game as well. Besides, if you get the edge over your lane opponent early, and maintain it, you will probably win your lane. Does that mean you win the game? No, but it increases your chances.

Spells

Exhaust gives Zac a fourth method of CC, and allows him to easily chase down key targets like the ADC in a team fight using Let's Bounce Let's Bounce.

I never chose this on Zac, but that doesn't mean its bad. It can be very helpful especially in the situations where you almost killed your opponent and they are going to escape. It also can stop pesky heals like Volibear's passive .

This spell is one of the best in the game, there are very few champions who can't utilize it. With Zac you may often find that you don't need it as much due to Elastic Slingshot, but I still take it cause it can help close the gap in a chase that normally would have been lost.

Ability Explanation

Let's Bounce

Stretching Strike: Zac's Q is main form of damage, and I throw my first level into this. Not only does it slow for a maximum of 40%, but is a good method of harassment and can help easily clear creep waves.

Unstable Matter: This ability is a point blank AoE attack that has the nice effect of dealing a % of enemies max health in bonus damage. Not only that, but with a cooldown of only 4 seconds, the cool down reduction from Spirit of the Spectral Wraith and Spirit Visage can make this ridiculously spammable. I tend to max this last, as the stun on his Q and the cool down boost on his jump are much better to get.

Elastic Slingshot: This is, in my opinion, Zac's best ability. You can close the gap on a fleeing opponent, pull a surprise gank from the fog of war, jump over terrain to escape, or just jump on your unsuspecting lane opponent. Late game a good jump can put you in the middle of an enemy team, then immediately move into Let's Bounce Let's Bounce. This gives your team a large amount of time to engage and pummel the stunned enemy team.

Let's Bounce Let's Bounce: Zac's ulti is a very useful ability in both 1v1 and team fights. If you jump onto an enemy and stun them with Elastic Slingshot then you are in the perfect position to go right into your ulti. Remember ever successful hit with Let's Bounce yields health chunks, and since it has no cost to use this ability, these are free health packs to pick up if you are being focused or went into a fight low on health. Remember that Zac knocks opponent away from him with this attack, so try to push them in a direction that is beneficial to the situation.

Items

Spirit of the Spectral Wraith
This is, typically, a jungling item, and while Zac doesn't fully utilize this item, it is still a good one to get early for the CR and Spell Vamp.

Spirit Visage
This is an absolute, Absolute, ABSOULTE must item for Zac. He gets so much milage out of the boost to his blobs healing alone, not to mention the increased cool down reduction. (which now puts us at the max 40%)

Sunfire Cape
This is a good item on any tank, the armor and health alone are nice, but the 40 damage a second will increase your usefulness even further in a team fight.

Warmog's
Well, I mean it should be obvious why this is good. Massive HP boost coupled with a great regen passive makes Zac even harder to put down. Lets say you have 5000 HP (not unbelievable withZac), thats 50 health back each 5 seconds on top of whatever healing you are getting from other sources.

Liandry's Torment
I usually finish off with this item, no particular rhyme or reason honestly, but that doesn't mean it is by any means bad. It gives more magic pen, burns enemies when you hit them with an ability, and doubles the effect if their movement is impaired (having 3 forms of CC just got a whole lot more awesome).

Mercury's Treads
I feel like these are one of the better boots on Zac, and I would recommend them to players who are just starting as Zac. I, however, tend to use Boots of Swiftness for the speed boost, as Zac isn't exactly the fastest champion in the League. Regardless of your boots, I suggest picking up Enchantment: Alacrity so that you have a bit more speed.

Tips and Tricks

The debuff from Exhaust with Summoner's Wrath weakens your opponents MR and armor by 10, this is especially good early game. With a bit of skill you can easily secure a kill level 3 by using this sequence. (while still in the air to maximize damage)

Yes, you can use summoner spells while in mid jump. (If you are juggling, this means you can pull off a sneaky Baron or dragon steal by jumping over the nest and using Smite

You don't have to let Elastic Slingshot charge all the way up before you use it, just tapping it lightly will allow you to jump to the spot right in front of you and surprise an enemy who got too close.

If at all possible, try to use your death passive in a place where you will be able to survive. Usually under tower, or in the middle of a team fight where they will either have to let you reform or waist time killing you off while your team mates punish them.

Ending notes

Like I said before, this is my first guide on this website. I realize I am technically breaking one of the Ten Commandments of Writing a Guide by making a guide on a new champion, but he has been out for a few weeks and Lissandra is on her way, I think I will be alright.

I would love to hear feedback from anyone who reads this on whether it was helpful to you or not. What did you like? What do you think should be added? Did you notice some errors that I missed in my proof read? Also if you have any ideas of your own on how you think this build or guide as a whole could be better, leave a comment or PM me!

(Please, no hate comments and if you do down vote this guide, please leave a legitimate reason in the comments.)

Credit to jhoijhoi who taught me and so many others the basics of making a good guide! This wouldn't have been possible without you!

League of Legends is a team based, real time strategy game set in a mythical world of swords & magic where epic battles decide the fate of mystical nations. Game players take on the role of a Summoner who conjures and controls champions to fight for them at the Institute of War. During game play champions gain experience and items to enhance their skills and abilities. How players develop and play their champions can be the difference between a crushing defeat or a glorious victory!